Hello and Welcome!

You’ve landed on the blog of Wooden Horse Publishing.  We’re in beta, so things are still a little bare around here.

Wooden Horse publishes an informative directory of magazines called…what else, the Magazines Database.  There you’ll find over 2,000 US and Canadian consumer and trade magazines, complete with contact information, reader demographics, writer’s guidelines and editorial calendars.  Check it out if you’re a PR professional, freelance writer, photographer, or entrepreneur doing your own publicity.

The information you see here come from our daily work with magazines.  We share it to help keep our fellow small business owners aware of new opportunities in the editorial side of the magazine industry.  Since much of the information migrates into our Database, we hope to demonstrate that our data is in-depth and up-to-date.  We hope it encourages you to consider our services.

We’re really glad you came,

Meg and staff

Ebay Starts a Fashion Magazine

The Inside Source is an online magazine about fashion trends, written and edited by glossy magazine writers and pitching the trendiest items for sale on eBay.

Its intent is to market eBay as a go-to source for much more than out-of-date clothes and used digital cameras.  Among its almost 200 million items for sale are a lot of new, overstock and upscale merchandise sold at fixed prices.

Ebay’s marketplace has been struggling for the past few years.  Though the total of all transactions increased 7% last quarter, increases have been slowing.  The new web site is part of eBay’s effort to “re-engage consumers and shift perceptions of eBay,” said Alan Marks, eBay’s senior vice president of corporate communications.

“The merchandise is certainly there, but for somebody who isn’t an eBay addict or fanatic, sometimes you don’t know where to begin,” Meredith Barnett, the site’s editorial director, said.  “The job of The Inside Source is to curate the site for a certain shopper who is interested in the latest trends.”

Ms. Barnett is a former editor at Lucky, the shopping magazine, and co-founded a company called Store Adore, an online guide to boutique shopping.  She has hired writers for W, InStyle and the New Yorker as freelancers.

Check out the magazine here.

How BusinessWeek will change under Bloomberg

BUSINESSWEEK will become BLOOMBERG BUSINESSWEEK as the magazine changes hands from McGraw-Hill sometime in early December, but there will be other changes, as well.

Norman Pearlstine, Bloomberg chief content officer

Bloomberg LP executives have plans to make the publication physically bigger and glossier and editorially more international.  Bloomberg’s chief content officer Norman Pearlstine – soon to be chairman of BusinessWeek following the deal’s completion – said this week that he will increase the number of pages in the magazine, upgrade the paper stock, double the story count and expand its global coverage.  The plans are also to increase the price.

Bloomberg plans to keep most of its web content free while creating deep, vertical content areas that paying users could access for something like $100 a year.

The changes would move BusinessWeek in the direction of THE ECONOMIST, for which Pearlstine has expressed admiration and which is envied for its high subscription price, robust circulation growth and strong advertiser appeal.  It is also one of the few publications showing healthy growth even in this economy.

Pearlstine also said in a meeting that he expects to have a new Editor-in-Chief on board by the time the deal closes, which is expected to happen December 1.

New Bloomberg BusinessWeek Staff Is Coming Together

BUSINESSWEEK this week revealed more of its “new” masthead under the owner, Bloomberg LP.

The two most senior executives are leaving: President Keith Fox, who said he will stay with former owner McGraw-Hill, and Editor-in-Chief Steve Adler with destination unknown.  Also leaving is Roger Neal, who oversaw the company’s not-so-successful business social net working site, which attracted only a half-million users despite millions of dollars spent.

But executive editors Ellen Pollock and John Byrne, and managing editor Ciro Scotti will all be staying.  On the business side, Publisher Jessica Sibley, marketing and communications director Carl Fisher and vice president of finance Tania Secor will also stay.  As for the rest of the personnel, “Bloomberg expects to maintain a majority of BW employees,” Norm Pearlstine, chief content officer of Bloomberg and soon chairman of BusinessWeek, said in a memo.  He expects to let BW staffers know whether they will be offered new jobs by November 20.

“We expect to move all BusinessWeek offices and bureaus globally (except New York and Austin, Texas) to existing Bloomberg offices on December 4.  Employees based in New York will continue to work at 1221 Avenue of the Americas until space is available at Bloomberg’s 731 Lexington Avenue building,” Pearlstine’s memo continued.

Bankrupt RDA Closes Its “Biggest Magazine Venture Ever”

PURPOSE DRIVEN CONNECTION magazine, published in partnership between Saddleback Church pastor Rick Warren and the Reader’s Digest Association (RDA), will go online only starting in January 2010.

RDA called the much-hyped launch earlier this year one of its “most important and far-reaching ventures ever.”  It was to consist of “an inspirational multimedia platform” that included a magazine, a membership club, DVDs and a “Facebook for Christians.”  Magazine industry

Mary Berner, CEO

magazine Folio: wrote on Nov 24, 2008: “Mary Berner, RDA president and CEO [pictured], called the venture ‘an expression of our vision for the company’s future,’ and hopes to strike up similar multiplatform deals moving forward.  ‘Platforms are things that we excel in: Magazine creation and publishing, and, increasingly, digital media.”

Well, it seems that the Chapter 11-dwelling publisher has something to learn.  Its flagship publication, READER’S DIGEST, has been losing readers for years.  And now, the audience, which made Warren’s book “The Purpose Driven Life” a runaway bestseller, would go to the website but was not ready to fork out $9.99 for a subscription, or $29.99 for a full membership including the quarterly magazine, DVDs with each issue, study guides and access to its web site.

Pastor Warren has been hard at spinning the situation his way.  EarthTimes.org quotes Warren saying: “So when we heard the feedback and noticed subscriptions to the print magazine lagging behind Internet usage, in spite of strong retail newsstand sales, we jumped at the chance to go all digital.”  And: “Impressive reader feedback has prompted us to focus all our energies on our digital format, so our content can be expanded, international, interactive and free,” Warren explained.  “The positive response from readers was so overwhelming we didn’t want the content to be limited only to Americans who could afford a subscription to a magazine.”

Shutting down is already under way.  Frank Lalli, who served as editor-in-chief of the print edition, left the company last month after closing the Christmas edition, a spokesperson said.  RDA said it will host the magazine’s web site through the first quarter of 2010.  Deborah Caldwell will continue to serve as web editor through the transition.  RDA’s involvement with the site after the first quarter next year remains unknown, she said.  The company is offering to refund unused print subscriptions to the magazine.

Not the Way to Run a Company: Ascend to File Chapter 7

Publisher Ascend Media Holdings has filed for Chapter 7 liquidation under the US bankruptcy code.  The Overland Park, KS-based trade publisher is what’s left of a once large company of about $150 million in revenue.

Ascend was originally founded in 2002.  The 2004 acquisition of publisher World Communications for $130 million put the company on the map, but also broke its back.  To stay afloat, Ascend sold off its 17-title Professional Service Division, shut down three titles (PHYSICIANS MONEY DIGEST, FAMILY PRACTICE RECERTIFICATION, INTERNAL MEDICINE WORLD REPORT), divested its four-title dental group and sold EXPO magazine to Red 7 Media all in 2007.  In February 2008, Ascend sold its Princeton, NJ-based Ascend Health division to Intellisphere.  The custom media division was acquired in September by Cameron Bishop, the former CEO of Ascend Media, who retained the name Ascend Media.

The company now carries nearly $15 million in liabilities compared to only $25,000 in estimated assets.  Ascend said it has between 100 and 199 creditors, the majority being unsecured non-priority claims and indicated that after any exempt property is excluded and administrative expenses are paid that “there will be no funds available for distribution to unsecured creditors.”

Two Year-Old Southern Lifestyle Magazine Skips One Issue

GARDEN & GUN launched a little over two years ago and – because of the timing – has seen more than the usual start-up problems in its short life.  As Publisher Rebecca Wesson Darwin recently wrote subscribers and admirers in an email and on the website, “this has been a tough year for magazines and media companies.”

But she clearly is not ready to give up: “We have seen some great ones go down, including GOURMET and SOUTHERN ACCENTS, among others.  But we have built something special at Garden & Gun, and we’ve been determined to weather this financial storm by being nimble, creative, and aggressive in securing our future, and in continuing to deliver this great publication.

To help shore up our business for 2010 and beyond, we recently made the difficult decision to skip our October/November issue.  This was a painful thing for the G&G team, and we hate to disappoint you, our loyal subscribers.  However, please rest assured that you will receive the full number of copies you ordered when you subscribed or joined one of our club levels…And know this: We will never compromise on the quality of the writing, the photography, or the beautiful paper that Garden & Gun is printed on.

The next issue you receive will be a December 2009/January 2010 issue (above, right) that will be mailed to subscribers in late November (and that will appear on newsstands December 8)…We hope you understand the necessary steps we’ve taken to move into 2010 in a strong position, and we trust you’ll stay with us as we strive to capture the Soul of the New South in print, on the web, and through an expanding array of auctions and events.  Thank you for believing in the mission of Garden & Gun, and for your commitment to preserving the best of Southern culture.”

What do you think?  Was skipping an issue the right solution, and will it work?

Wife of ’60s Teen Idol Launches Magazine Named for Her Mother

GLADYS is the title of a new print and digital magazine that is part lifestyle and part inspiration.  Andrea Patrick Forte, wife of ’60’s music icon Fabian, is the editor-in-chief and publisher.  Her husband serves as managing director.

Inspired by the publisher’s mother and mentor, Gladys Patrick, the title combines traditional lifestyle advice with stories of hope, achievement and change.  “We will offer inspiring articles to enrich our reader’s lives and we will contribute what’s hip in fashion, beauty, travel and luxury products,” Andrea Patrick Forte said.  The monthly content will also include health, fitness, entertainment and advice.

Queries and pitches should reflect GLADYS‘ editorial philosophy, which is one of “positive encouragement and motivation,” and can be directed to info@gladysmagazine.com.

Since its debut in January, distribution of the quarterly magazine has gone national.  Copies are available at newsstands or by subscription.  Specific distribution figures and rate base are not specified by the publisher.

Blood, Blood, Everywhere…

THE ADVOCATE, the gay, lesbian and transgender news magazine, had its own version of the media bloodbaths last week: On Wednesday, an estimated 13 staffers were let go.

Among those laid off were the magazine’s managing editor and 15-year veteran John Jameson, art director Craig Edwards (his less experienced deputy was given the job, for much less cash), associate photo editor Meghan Quinn, and copy editor Teresa Morrison.  On the business side, associate publisher Mike Phelps and production manager Brian Lindsey were let go, all according to queerty.com.

This web site also reports that the magazine will become a 32-page insert in OUT, the company’s fashion and lifestyle glossy.

Wooden Horse Monday News Round-Up

MARKETING QC launched last week.  Canadian publisher Rogers Publishing bought AMPQ and re-branded it as Marketing QC to serve as the Quebec French language sibling to MARKETING.  The 12,000 circ, 10x magazine covers public relations, research, product development and advertising…

BON APPETIT is getting GOURMET’s approximately 850,000 subscribers after the latter’s finale this month.  As such, Publisher Paul Jowdy is raising BA’s 2010 rate base from 1.3 million to 1.5 million…

Publisher Forbes Media (FORBES*, FORBESLIFE*) laid off about 100 people this last week with roughly 30 on the editorial side, including Gary Walther, who was bounced as editor of ForbesLife magazine to be replaced by senior editor Richard Nalley…

COMPLEX magazine is about to be sold along with a number of style and gaming web sites.  The package is worth $20 million, according to Marc Ecko Enterprises CEO Seth Gerszberg.  The 350,000-circ magazine targeting young men brings in 45% of the revenue…

W* is back in fashion.  The Conde Nast glossy fashion magazine, which has experienced a more than 40% drop in ad pages this year, will be shifted back under the umbrella of the Fairchild Fashion Group along with trade titles Women’s Wear Daily and FN…

DRESS TO KILL is a Montreal-based fashion magazine that will be expanding to launch in Toronto with the fall issue and with a spring launch in New York.  Sylvain Blais and Stephen Ledut are co-editors-in chief…

ENERGY EFFICIENCY & TECHNOLOGY has been launched by Penton Media to provide energy-efficiency engineers with details on developing and employing state-of-the-art energy systems and practices.  It discusses design, manufacturing and application of devices, and circuits and systems related to technology for energy conversion and efficiency.  It publishes bi-monthly and the web site is at http://eetweb.com…

FLORIDA NEW HOMES & CONDOS has been redesigned and will now be called HOME SOURCE…

And…One More Silver Lining!

December ad pages in top US magazines are up (not a typo.)

The December issues of REAL SIMPLE*, COOKING LIGHT* and SOUTHERN LIVING* will all run significantly more ad pages this year than last, Steve Sachs, president of the lifestyle division at Time Inc told Silicon Alley Insider.

Conde Nast’s GLAMOUR* is coming in 5% over last year, said Bill Wackermann, senior VP-publishing director.  And at Hearst, COSMOPOLITAN*, COUNTRY LIVING*, GOOD HOUSEKEEPING*, MARIE CLAIRE* and O, THE OPRAH MAGAZINE* are all posting bigger issues in December, a spokeswoman said.

And, other magazines are still down in ad pages, but at a rate much lower than in previous months.  WIRED* is one and Publisher Howard Mittman is seeing previously dormant advertisers return.  Janet Balis, exec VP-media sales and marketing at Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia told SAI: “We are definitely starting to see some wonderful bright spots.  In the November issue of MARTHA STEWART LIVING*, paging was down less than 5% year over year, in a year when prior issues were substantially more challenged.”

But nobody believes it’s going to be sunshine and happy hearts from now on.  December was probably a last minute year-end spending of budgeted money that might not be replicated in January.

But at least they DID spend.